One of the American teammates and a competitor against Jim Thorpe in the Pentathlon and the Decathlon was Avery Brundage. Avery Brundage finished 6th in the Pantathlon and 16th in the Decathlon. His scores were not close to earning a medal. In 1912 that could have been the end of the Brundage story but it wasn’t. He would become a sports administrator and would rise to the point where he was the head of the International Olympic Committee from 1952-1972- the only American to hold that position.

As head of the IOC Brundage always rejected pleas to restore the gold medals that were taken from Jim Thorpe. It was only after his death that Thorpe’s medals were returned. A lot of people believed one of the reasons for Brundage’s actions- or lack of action in this case was a grudge he held against Thorpe from their days in Stockholm.

More of Brundage when he re-enters the picture. History has not treated the man well-and I believe rightly so.